Water System 2019 Improvement Projects

Project Status

• Jan 2019 Update: Staff have mailed flyers to all affected neighbors and held an outreach and information session at City Hall on 1/24/2019.
• ​Due to heavy snow on 2/4, construction starting date may be delayed until the week of 2/11.  Contractor will start laying pipes near the intersection of SE 22nd St and 76th Ave SE and continue heading east on SE 22nd Street.
• March updates: Construction started on 3/5/2019.  The crew worked on pipe installation.  By end of March, approximately 65% of new water main was installed. 
• April updates: All new water main for the project has been installed by the end of the week of 4/22.  Contractor continue working on water service installation which work is anticipated to continue until end of May.
• May updates: Contractor began preparing sites for roadway restoration.  Paving is scheduled for Tuesday, 5/28 (77th Ave SE south of SE 22nd St, and SE 20th St east of 80th Ave SE); Wednesday, 5/29 and Thursday 5/30 (SE 22nd St & SE 22nd Pl, from 76th Ave SE to 80th Ave SE). Property restoration and cleanup will continue after paving.  Estimated project completion date to be around 1st or 2nd week of June.

Project Details

Neighborhood: SE 22nd Street, SE 22nd Place, SE 20th St, and 77th Ave SE

Work Locations: View a Vicinity Map

Project Type: Water main replacement, associated water system upgrades, minor storm drainage work

Description: The watermains in this neighborhood were installed in the 1950s and 1960s and have a history of breaks. Under this project, the existing water main pipe (2,350 feet of 6-inch cast-iron and 1.5-inch galvanized iron watermain) will be replaced with 8” ductile iron pipe and the 2-port fire hydrants will be upsized to 3-ports. These upgrades will improve the system’s structural integrity and reliability and will improve water flow for fire suppression in the neighborhood.

Following these improvements, much-needed full width pavement restoration will occur on 77th Ave SE (this area is rated as “very poor” on the City's Pavement Condition Index).  Due to the upcoming King County sewer main project, anticipated to start in 2020, SE 22nd St and SE 22nd Pl will receive permanent trench patching at the end of this project. The City will then re-evaluate the pavement condition on SE 22nd St and SE 22nd Pl after completion of King County’s sewer project to determine if full-width roadway restoration will be needed in those areas.

Project Timeline:  Expected to start early February, and end by June 2019. Status updates posted above.

Estimated Budget: Rino Construction submitted the winning bid ($835,000) and has completed water utility projects successfully within cities of Renton and Bellevue. Total project budget is $1.25 million for all work, including survey, design and construction costs. 

Project Status: To help keep area residents informed of our construction progress, we will post project updates to this site on a regular basis (see top of page).

Impact to Residents: Affected residents adjacent to project areas received a letter from the City of Mercer Island. If shutoffs are necessary, we will also hang a reminder notice on your front door the day before water shutdowns and street closures.

Note: please notify the City now if you have special landscape plants, irrigation lines or invisible fencing, particularly if they are located near the meter box. Also, keep everyone safe by keeping kids and pets away from the construction zones.

Background: The City of Mercer Island evaluates our water system on a regular basis to ensure that the infrastructure remains in good condition and maintains adequate capacity to provide water to customers.  The water mains in this area are aging and are in need of upgrades.